didn't you hear?
by czqy
Summary: Lance was twelve going on thirteen when the stories started. In the first year of high school, Keith's parents died. The first story was about a boy who's now an orphan. The second was about a boy who likes boys. They were all about Keith, but Lance didn't know who that was, he only knew 'that boy'. Three years later, 'that boy' moves to Lance's school, and they meet.


**A/N: yooo look who it is! I'm back, and this has been a long time coming. I started this mid Jan and then school started and I got hella busy and couldn't find the motivation to finish this. Now, exams are starting and weirdly, it's giving me the inspiration to write.**

 **I struggled a bit with the tense and formatting, and I may come back to edit a few things but hopefully it's okay. enjoy :)**

* * *

Lance was twelve going on thirteen when the stories started. He walked into school to find a bunch of students huddled around each other, some with aghast expressions. When he got to his locker, he pointed to them and asked his friend what was up.

 _Didn't you hear?_

 _There's a boy from the other school whose parents died yesterday. He's an orphan, and there's no one to care for him._

"What's going to happen?" was the first thing Lance asked.

"Is he going to be okay?" was the last.

In the first year of high school, Keith's parents died. They were headed overseas for a business meeting and the plane crashed. Pilot error. As a result, Keith was left an orphan, with no family. The family he was staying with, his parents' friends, sent their condolences and watched him with pitiful expressions when he was taken away to an orphanage. They couldn't adopt him because they had three children of their own and it was already hard enough to sustain. At the orphanage, Keith had a tough time. He learnt that not everyone would go easy on a newcomer.

The first time someone tried to punch him, it landed square on his jaw and he spat out blood. He non-stop cried at the infirmary and the nurse held him and told him he had to be strong now. So he did; he learnt how to fight back. He started replying indifferently whenever someone asked him a question; started talking back when he was being yelled at. Anytime someone tried to touch him, he dodged.

The last time someone tried to punch Keith he caught their fist in his hand, kicked them in the stomach, _hard,_ and sent them flying backwards. He didn't make it out without injuries though, and ended up having to go to the infirmary. There, he couldn't help but notice that the nurse who treated him after the first fight had a look of sadness, and something like disappointment in her eyes. His suspicions were confirmed when she told him "this isn't what I meant by get stronger."

They told him he was "lucky to be adopted by the nice lady, especially so soon" and that kids like him are "usually in the system until they're too old to be." They were right, of course, and Keith tried his very hardest to remain emotionless when they told him the news. Truthfully, he had no idea who it was that could've adopted him. He had made an effort to be indifferent at the interviews, not paying any mind, and sometimes the potential adopters left before time was even up.

Although he couldn't fully comprehend it, he was grateful, but didn't know how to show it yet.

* * *

Keith was fourteen when he made a grave mistake. He came out. It's not like he meant to—it wasn't something he was actively thinking. Everyone was just discussing crushes and when they looked at him he mentioned he didn't understand the hype over girls, and that boys were much cooler. Someone asked if that meant he wanted a boyfriend and he said yes probably, someday, but not now. The whole concept was still new to him, and he quickly learnt that perhaps liking someone of the same gender wasn't not as normal as he thought, and that perhaps he was a "freak no one would ever love". When a few of the boys came threateningly close, the only thought that ran through Keith's mind was _please no_. Then he got beaten up. First, the corner of his mouth was met with a fist that left his lip split and bleeding. Next, he was pushed back so he fell to the ground. Then, he was kicked in the stomach, in the back, on the shins, stomped on everywhere all over. All he did was hold his hands to his head and curl in on himself after the first kick. He easily could've fought back, could've broken out and ran, but at the time he thought that perhaps he deserved it. Once they left him covered in bruises and crying he rolled onto his back and turned to the skies above. After a few moments, he let out a bitter chuckle. What a shame, it just started to feel like he fit in.

Keith's guardian was worried sick by the time he got home, she approached him with tenderness, with _love_ , and that's when he made his second mistake of the day. Just as she reached out to touch his split lip, he swerved and shoved past her into his room, slamming the door, shutting her out. (He also shut himself up. He didn't talk for days, but when he finally spoke again it was to tell his guardian what had happened, to properly come out for the first time, to apologise and to beg for forgiveness. She started crying and just as he thought she might not want to take care of him anymore she gathered him in her arms, and held him tight with a hand to his head pulling him closer. "I am so, so proud of you," she told him. "Never forget who you really are, and never forget that I love you. No matter what." It was the first time Keith heard her say those words, and it brought him to tears.)

Lance was fourteen going on fifteen when he started questioning his sexuality. Sure, girls were prettyand they had nice voices and hair he'd like to run his fingers through but boys weren't that horrible either. He wondered what it would be like to hold another boy's hand, if it would be smooth or rough, and what it would be like to kiss a boy.

 _Didn't you hear?_

 _A boy from the other school, he likes boys, he's gay, he's a_ fag. _He got beat up for it but it's only fair._

A cold shiver had gone up Lance's spine when he learned what happened. _I think I like boys too_ , he thought, _except I still like girls. Will I get beaten up for that?_

He never found out, because even after he had reached the conclusion he wasn't entirely straight, he didn't come out.

* * *

On the day of his fifteenth birthday, Keith's guardian revealed she was transferring him to a new school next year. She thought it'd be a good opportunity, a way to start new. Keith chose to believe her. One of the reasons why is because she had also started something new; she met someone, they were dating and all seemed to be going well. Keith even got along with him. When they told him of the news, he was excited too and took them all out for dinner. What the three of them never could've guessed was that Keith's story would be nothing new to the students at the school he was transferring to.

 _Didn't you hear?_

 _That boy from the other school—the orphan, the_ gay _one—he's transferring to our school next year._

Lance had already turned fifteen by the time the news of the school transferral gets around. He wasn't sure how to feel. He had conjured up an image of what 'that boy' would be like from all the stories he'd heard, and he was almost intimidated by the fact he could find out all of it was wrong.

* * *

It was five weeks into the first term when 'that boy' moved houses.

 _Didn't you hear?_

 _That boy from the other school has moved houses too, to one three streets behind the back gate._

"Hey Lance," one of his 'friends' prodded him, "isn't that your street?"

It was, but he didn't respond. He was too busy wondering if they'd ever bump into each other. The boy intrigued him, to say the least, and if Lance could, he wanted to get to know him.

In the holidays before Keith started school with new people, he learnt he couldn't escape the old. Whenever he went out alone they just seemed to be _there_ and they never treated him well. The day after he came home with a broken nose his guardian told him she had started looking at houses with her partner, that they were going to move in together and also get Keith out of this neighbourhood. The three of them had fully moved into the new house by the end of the fifth week in term one.

* * *

If Keith had known what it was going to be like at the new school he honestly may have asked his guardian _not_ to transfer him. He came here for a new start, a _second chance_ , but he got none of that. Instead he got people whispering about him as he walked by, asking him questions about the past he tried to leave behind, asking him to confirm or deny rumours. It wasn't everyone that bothered him of course, but after talking to some of them he found that even though they seemed to not care nor pay attention, a lot of the time they were just not bold enough to approach him. After that, he rebuilt the walls he had started taking down, stayed on the low and tried to avoid anyone and everyone unless necessary. He gave up trying to make friends and fitting in. He was annoyed. At least everyone at his old school already knew who he was, he didn't have to waste his energy trying to make good first impressions—even the new students knew him before he realised there was someone new at the school. He had wasted time and energy here, where he'd thought things would be different. After that, he began to accept the fact that nothing would ever change.

* * *

On the last day of term one Lance finally mustered up the courage to talk to 'that boy', whose name he now knew to be 'Keith'. It was a surprise seeing him at first, he wasn't expecting him to be so… attractive. He sat by himself, usually at the very back of the room with his head down and soft-looking long hair falling around his face (who seriously has a mullet these days?). It was so interesting for Lance to see him so tranquil. From the stories, he had expected 'that boy' to have rough edges and pick fights any chance he got. Instead, he kept to himself, and didn't look up even when people were physically provoking him.

There was someone trailing behind Keith when he walked home on the final day of term one. He had been careful to take the long routes home on other days but school ended early today and it was also his guardians' birthday and he wanted to surprise her. He wasn't sure whether the person was following him or just happened to live on the same street. He was three houses away from home when they called out. He turned with a glare already plastered on his face but found it faltered slightly when he faced a boy. He wasn't _bad_ looking; he was tall, slim, had choppy hair and a sharp jawline. The problem, however, was that he was also from the same school and maybe the same class and Keith has already promised himself not to get close to anyone. He didn't know how to respond but he wanted to get away. And even though he wanted to leave, he wouldn't until he replied, because that's how he was raised, and because this boy had done nothing wrong to Keith personally. So he decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. "Why are you talking to me? Don't you know who I am?" He then turned around and only stopped speed walking when he was in his bedroom with the door slammed shut.

 _Didn't you hear?_

" _I'm_ that _boy. The one who lost his parents. The one who likes boys. Aren't you scared?"_

Lance wasn't. However, he didn't get the chance to say so. The boy ran off as soon as the last word left his mouth. Under any other circumstance Lance would've let it go. In fact, in all the scenarios that played through his head, when Keith rejected him he let it go and didn't bother him again. But he had changed his mind as soon as he saw how Keith looked at him. It was something like hope, as if he was going to give him a chance; but then he must've realised they went to the same school and took it all back. Lance thought that he must be lonely, that he must've thought he had to isolate himself because no one cared. Lance couldn't say whether he cared or not, but he definitely cared about making people happy. He decided to make it his personal mission to ensure Keith felt welcomed and accepted, even if it was just with him.

* * *

Keith learns the boy's name is Lance, and that he doesn't give up. He's annoying but, although he won't admit it, Keith likes listening to him talk. They bicker a lot, but Keith enjoys that too. Three weeks into term two he decides getting Lance off his case will be a lost cause. He decides to try softening up. _Try._

He does have to give the guy some credit, he seems to be putting in a lot of effort to try and get Keith to open up. At first, Keith didn't notice, but then he realised he now had someone sitting next to him in most of his classes, and that the person was the same. In fact, that person was the one who called out to him at the end of last term. That person introduced himself the first time Keith acknowledged him.

"Hi! Glad to see you finally noticed, I'm Lance!" Keith wanted to roll his eyes at the cheerfulness but settled on ignoring him instead, even though it didn't stop him from talking. "Okay, that's okay. It's been like this for a while so I'm used to it. So, did you read the chapter we were supposed to? I didn't, except I feel like…" Keith put his head down as 'Lance' droned on.

Eventually, Keith started talking back. The first time, it was to tell Lance to shut up and it must've surprised him so much that he actually did. It didn't deter him for long, before Keith knew it he was talking again, sounding even more cheerful.

Three weeks into the second term Lance notices Keith beginning to soften up; he stops barking back at Lance with looks that could kill. They even banter. Eight weeks in, Keith acknowledges Lance as a 'friend' for the first time.

"Hey, hey! Stop it!" Lance is making fun of Keith's hair (again), calling it a mullet which Keith denies (as usual). This time for some reason Lance thinks they are now close enough for him to pull at Keith's hair. "It's still hair you know! You're being too rough, it _hurts_ ," Keith shoves Lance's hand away. "Is this what it's like to be friends with you?"

The word 'friend' comes out of Keith's mouth before he can stop it. He just wanted Lance to stop touching his hair while also trying take a jab at him and it just _slipped_. Lance looks surprised, and he himself is as well, but neither of them seem to disagree or argue against it. In fact, a smug smile makes its way to Lance's face and he proceeds to headlock Keith and ruffle his hair. Keith groans but doesn't fight it. When Lance moves his hand from around Keith's neck to his shoulders, he doesn't complain either.

 _Didn't you hear?_

 _Lance is friends with that boy from the other school now. Is it a charity case or is he really stooping that low? Whatever the reason, it better be worth it. He's throwing so much away for that piece of shit._

The first time Lance hears it, he doesn't pay it any mind. He ignores it. Over, and over, and _over_ again. The only time he doesn't ignore it is when he's backed into a corner with no way of escaping, and it's spoken directly to him.

"Maybe," he replies, "Keith is better company than dirtbags like you."

He walks home with a black eye. Keith is concerned, he's worried, he wants answers, but Lance gives him none. Instead, he gives a warm smile.

The words that just want to flow out of Lance's mouth are 'you're worth it', but he catches himself. He has no idea where that came from but he can deal with it later. Right now he needs a distraction and remembers what he had promised Keith a while ago.

"So how 'bout that Voltron marathon?"

Keith doesn't seem to want to let it go, but does it anyway. Lance doesn't miss the way he looks over with sad eyes when they're watching the show though.

* * *

During the sixth week of term three, Lance realises he's developed feelings for Keith. He's always counting down the minutes to their next class together, to when they get to walk home together, and to when they get to see each other the next day. As much as he loves the playfulness and banter, he also wants some of the other stuff. He craves little things, small gestures of appreciation, and feels his insides melt when Keith initiates them first. He wonders if his lips are as soft as his hair. Two weeks later, he comes out for the first time. Keith accepts it, accepts _him_ , with no hesitation.

Two weeks before term three ends, Lance surprises Keith. He comes out as bisexual. Keith tells him it's okay immediately, that he won't tell a single soul ever, that they're still friends and that he's not weirded out. He says it because it's true, and because it's what he would've wanted to hear. In another universe, he would've come out in return but there was no need. This whole universe already knew. Instead, he focuses on making the rest of their hangout as normal as possible, because he can tell Lance was nervous. He tries to lighten the mood by teasing and asking Lance if he likes anyone, but then stops when the boy awkwardly tries to respond, face paling. Keith waves a hand and tells Lance not to worry, he doesn't have to reply, and he won't pry him about it. He thinks he sees Lance breathe a sigh of relief when they go back to watching the movie, and is glad Lance knows he's safe with him.

 _There's no rumour this time, Keith doesn't tell anyone about Lance, and Lance starts falling_ hard.

* * *

In the fourth week of fourth term Lance gets in an argument. A verbal fight. He's not fighting for himself though, he's fighting for the mullet-haired boy who never got a chance. In the midst of everything, he confesses his feelings. Not to the boy, but about him, and to a crowd of spectators.

"Stop! None of you even know Keith! You're all basing him off those stories we'd heard before he got here. I won't lie, I did too, but you know what I found? I found that he's witty, he's smart, he's kind, and he accepts me for who I am. He's a good person and I _wish_ I was good enough for him to like me back the same way I like him." Half the crowd reels back in response, and Lance does too. He hadn't meant to _confess_ , and especially not to anyone but Keith. It seems to silence the crowd though, so he's satisfied. When he's done, he steps off the makeshift podium and walks home. He considers texting Keith and asking why he wasn't at school today, but decides against it. He wants to spend the rest of the day winding down, deciding on his action plan for tomorrow.

On the day of Keith's mum's birthday, he doesn't go to school. He asked his guardian to take him to the cemetery, and spent most of the day there. Now he's lying on his bed staring at the ceiling, wondering what his parents would think if they saw him now. Lance doesn't message him like usual, but he's in a bad mood anyway so it doesn't matter.

The next day, however, Lance explains why. He had decided he should tell Keith about his feelings. He expects rejection, awkwardness, and a little bit of anger but gets none of that. He gets gratitude, and a confession back.

 _Didn't you hear?_

 _It was proclaimed before a large crowd, it was discussed on social media, it spread through the school like wildfire—heck, even the principal knows!_

"I love you." Keith doesn't feel it, but his face must make some kind of shape because all of a sudden Lance's eyes widen and he scrambles to explain himself, words nonstop spilling from his mouth.

"Shit wait no, not love. It's _way_ too early for that I mean we've only known each other for how long? And we've been friends for even less time than that so it'd be bizarre if I already love you right I mean ahah…" _Smooth_ , Lance thinks to himself as he mentally face palms. "What I mean to say is, I like you."

Keith isn't sure what to say, but he isn't grossed out. He's grateful Lance told him, and lets him know that. He also lets Lance in on a little secret. He likes him back. He had never said it out loud before that, but he feels like he's ready. It took him a while, but he realised the warm feeling he gets whenever he's around Lance isn't exactly what friends feel for each other. Lance gave him a chance when no one else would, he made him feel welcome, and became his first genuine friend in a long time. Lance would sometimes express thanks to Keith for accepting him for who he is, but really, it was Lance who had accepted Keith first. And Keith is appreciative of that. He doesn't know where he'd be right now if Lance hadn't pestered him at the beginning, but he knows he's happy with Lance by his side.

* * *

A week later, they're officially dating.

Neither boy had asked the other exactly, it was more of a mutual decision. Up until that week they were both aware of the feelings they had for each other, they just hadn't labelled what their relationship was. And there was no rush to either; that week of unknowing and being between friends and boyfriends was just what they needed before that next big step.

 _Didn't you hear?_

 _Keith and Lance are dating now. Good. Hopefully it means they're out of our way._

Lance and Keith hear the rumours of course, along with the whispers and sniggers, but they can't care less. They're on a high, they're in their honeymoon phase. All they can think about is each other, and all the adventures they'll have. Just the other weekend they went to watch a cheesy romantic film and almost got kicked out for snickering too loudly. It's great, the boys are having fun, they're happy, and nothing else matters.

* * *

With seven weeks gone past term four, they share their first kiss. Up until then, it had been just hugs and hand holds but that's okay, neither boy minded.

Even though it is something they both want, and something they are both ready for, it doesn't stop them from being nervous. It's a big deal! You only get one first kiss, and although they didn't want to make it some grand event it probably wouldn't have made a difference anyway. The same feelings would be present; they'd still be in this position.

They are sitting across each other on the bed, cross-legged and staring. They don't know what to do, or how to initiate it.

"Well, isn't this awkward?" Lance breaks the silence, as well as the eye contact.

Keith huffs. "Hey! I was just about to do it! You've ruined the moment now."

"Oh really?" Lance looks back up with a playful smirk. "Then why don't you do it? Right now. Come on, I _dare_ you."

"Oooh look at Lance, he thinks he can gets what he wants by daring me. Maybe I won't, just for that. You can suffer." He then sucks his lips in so even if Lance wanted to kiss him, he wouldn't be able to.

"Fine! Then you can suffer with me," and Lance sucks his lips in too.

They stare each other down like that for a solid two seconds before they burst into laughter and fall forward—bumping heads in the process, which causes them to laugh even harder, except this time they do so while sitting back and rubbing at their foreheads.

"Why are we like this?" Keith asks when they calm down.

"Hey, I don't know what you're on about. We are _perfectly_ normal." Lance crosses his arms and turns his chin up to the ceiling, pouting his lips.

Keith gives a small chuckle and scoots closer to Lance, so their knees are touching. When Lance brings his face back down to eye level, Keith cups his cheeks and tells him "you're a fool."

Lance smiles. "Yeah," he agrees, "but I'm _your_ fool."

Keith manages a small "unbelievable" before their lips finally meet.

And it's perfect.

 _Didn't you hear?_

 _Keith and Lance don't care for what we have to say. They're as happy as can be, and nothing can take that away._

* * *

 **A/N: did you like it? I hope the end wasn't too cheesy lmao. I also don't know how to write kisses so hopefully that didn't suck. I actually have a few more projects planned but don't expect them anytime soon school owns me right now.**

 **feel free to leave a review, I appreciate those a lot and they always make me smile.**


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